Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.

Fanado: The LongPen Still Lives

It was at BEA 5 years ago that Margret Atwood and company unleashed the LongPen in America. It was hailed as “the world’s first real time, pen and ink long-distance autographing device” which produces “legally valid” signatures.

It was to be the 21st century version of the autopen. It was to revolutionize and revitalize the author reading experience which by then was a much less common event in bookstores around the country.

“I can’t wait to see how this one plays out” was how I ended my post on the initial American release of the LongPen in June of 2007, How Far Will the LongPen Reach?

Well, here we are in 2012 and it safe to say that though they have had some success in other areas, the LongPen’s reach has been pretty limited in the literary world.

Earlier in the year LongPen morphed into iDoLVine. Now we have the next permutation, Fanado “an online event space where artists and performers can connect with fans and aficionados, present to audiences, greet fans one-on-one, sign personalized collectibles, sell directly online, live stream and archive the event, and create personal experiences and lasting memories.”

Fanado has recently launched a Indiegogo campaign to fund a couple of mobile apps to help fulfill Fanado’s mission of “Anyone, Anytime, Anyplace.”

Will the third time be the charm for the technology? Was the LongPen on the bleeding edge of innovation when it surfaced in 2006? Has the acceptance of the technology caught up and now it sits on the cutting edge? Or is it the fact that the experience of attending a reading and having a book signed will simply not transfer to the virtual world.

A clue might be that after 6 years of the technology the backers are now turning to crowdsourcing to stay alive.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.